What is it that drives a person to change? What is it that is in the heart that stirs up the individual to act? When our Lord was invited to the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee there was a divine purpose behind the story. It was the place that revealed the purpose of His sojourn in this world of humanity. The nuptials in that place and on the third day would drive the contemplative soul of Mary to request her Son to begin His mission by initiating His Hour. To penetrate the meaning of that moment calls us to translate the meaning of the words: “Cana” and “Galilee”.
Our Lord was driven by a divine “zeal” (=Cana) to seek out the souls of men and women in order to direct their hearts to a transmigration (=Galilee) to the kingdom of God. This zeal would be the characteristic of the life of Jesus from the moment His holy mother revealed: “They have no wine.”
What a sad state the whole world was in. The joy of living had been reduced to simple routine from day to day. There was no direction and the subjection to the pagans of Rome left the people longing for a savior. Prophecy was silent; sacrifices were haphazard and the purpose of the Israelite nation became lost in the shuffle. In the midst of all this boredom a voice was heard: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” The Baptist was a breath of fresh air and his message and life lit a fire in the hearts of many. Expectation of hope rose and that day the celebration of the nuptials prefigured the coming of the divine bride groom. To add to the joy of that moment the wine was served but now it was finished. A new age is always born with the death of the old. The wine of the old was at an end.
In His zeal the Bridegroom of the new age answered His holy mother with the brief statement:”What is this to me and to thee? My hour has not yet come.” What our Lord was saying to our Lady was: “Dear mother you are the woman, the new Eve, and you are asking me to begin my journey to the wine-press of Golgatha.” Zeal for our souls drove Jesus and Mary to enter into the world with a message and an act of Love beyond telling. Mary understood and went to the waiters and told them in her final words in scripture:”Do whatever He tells you.” It is the seventh word of our Lady and it is a crucial program for each of us who wish to serve God faithfully. We must do what our Lord inspires us to do. It is this divine zeal that must occupy our hearts in which the will offers itself to the plan of God. Zeal is always found attached to a transmigration. Why do we change our lives…because we want to save our souls and the souls of our neighbors.
Zeal is expressed in the crucifixion of the body of our Lord and hence produces the wine of eternal life. We come to the wedding feast in which our souls present themselves as the brides of Jesus. Our divine nuptials take place in the moments of Calvary that enter our lives by the divine will of God. Why do so many souls resists the crushing? What has happened to the zeal which fosters virginity and martyrdom? The Catholic Church used to possess the absolute truth given by the Son of God Himself but zeal left us. We have the truth but no fire. The left has fire but no truth.
We now live in a world that has no more wine. There is practically a wholesale denial of the Blood of Christ which seals the New Covenant. So many divisions are demanding human recognition of their half-truths. Protestants of all sorts steal the Word of God from the womb of the only true religion and these sects claim authenticity though they were born ofsin. Martin Luther began the rebellion, King Henry VIII continued it. Then one by one new men came forward with a new half truth for people to follow. With all of this watering down of the words and works of Jesus, we find ourselves again seeking the return of the Lord to set all things straight.
In the present crisis we must return to Cana of Galilee and rediscover the truth of the One Who transformed water into wine. Cana will lead us to Calvary where the wine is poured outto the last drop. These nuptials are continuing in this very sacrifice of the Lamb. Your soul and mine are wedded to the Lamb of God and life is fresh with the joy of knowing that we are transmigrating to the house of God. Let us continue to go to the house of the Lord Who alone gives joy to my youth. Jesus, Mary and Joseph help us save our souls and the souls of all we know and love.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt, S.D.B
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